Symptoms, explained
A knocked-out or injured tooth: the first few minutes matter
If an adult tooth has just been knocked right out, don’t read this whole page yet. Do this: pick the tooth up by the white part, not the root. Put it straight back into its socket if you can — or drop it into a little milk. Never water, and never let it dry out. Then contact us immediately. The rest of this page can wait; the tooth can’t.
This page can’t diagnose you. A knock can hurt a tooth in ways you can’t see from the outside. The tests in the chair — a gentle tap, a wiggle test, a nerve test, an X-ray — make the call. You’re not expected to know what’s causing it. That’s our job. This page helps you do the right thing in the meantime — and after a knock, what you do in the first few minutes genuinely changes the outcome.
A dental injury is frightening — blood, a gap, often a crying child. Take a breath. Most knocked teeth can be treated, and quick, calm first aid gives a knocked-out tooth its best possible chance.
Toothache right now? We keep same-day slots — and we answer.
Call nowAn adult tooth knocked completely out — the next few minutes count
This is the one true minute-by-minute emergency in dentistry. A knocked-out adult tooth can often be saved — but its chances fall with every minute it spends dry outside the mouth. Here’s exactly what to do:
- Pick it up by the crown — the white part you normally see. Try not to touch the root.
- If it’s dirty, don’t scrub or wipe it. A gentle swish in milk is enough.
- Best option: put it straight back into its socket, facing the right way, and bite gently on a clean cloth to hold it in place.
- Can’t face that, or it won’t go in? Put it in milk. The person’s own saliva also works. Never tap water, and never let it dry — no wrapping it in tissue.
- Contact us immediately — tell us it’s a knocked-out tooth and we’ll treat it as the emergency it is.
When you arrive, we gently clean and reposition the tooth, then hold it steady with a small flexible splint — a thin wire bonded to the neighbouring teeth — for about two weeks. For adult teeth that are fully formed, the nerve inside usually can’t survive the journey, so a root canal a week or two later is a normal, planned part of the treatment — not a bad sign. In a child whose adult tooth is still developing, the nerve sometimes recovers by itself, so there we watch closely instead of treating straight away.
We may also check that your tetanus cover is up to date, and antibiotics are a routine part of treatment here. Elsewhere on this site we are firm that antibiotics don’t fix a painful tooth — and that stays true. A replanted tooth is the exception: the root has been out in the world, and this is about protecting the tooth as it re-attaches, not about treating pain.
Being straight with you: a tooth that’s been dry for more than an hour has a much tougher road ahead. Putting it back is usually still worthwhile — it holds the space and the bone while we plan ahead — but we’ll be honest with you about its chances.
What you should do
Put the tooth back in — or into milk — and contact us right now, not later today. Minutes genuinely matter here. This is exactly what our emergency slots are for.
If it’s a baby tooth: don’t put it back
One big exception to everything above. Baby (milk) teeth are never replanted — and the reason matters: pushing a baby tooth back into its socket can damage the permanent tooth still forming in the gum above it. A knocked-out baby tooth stays out.
That doesn’t mean nothing needs checking. We still want to see your child the same day — to check that no neighbouring teeth were chipped or loosened, and that the gum is settling as it should.
Not sure whether it’s a baby tooth or an adult one? Don’t guess. Pop it in milk anyway, bring it and your child in, and let us make the call.
What you should do
Don’t replant a baby tooth. Contact us the same day so we can check your child properly — and bring the tooth along if you have it.
Still in the mouth, but loose or pushed out of position
A knock doesn’t have to take a tooth out to hurt it. After a blow, a tooth can be:
- Tender but firm — sore to bite on, not wobbly. This often needs no treatment beyond soft food for a while, with us keeping an eye on the nerve.
- Wobbly but in place — sometimes a small flexible splint for a week or two makes it comfortable; sometimes soft food and time are enough.
- Visibly moved — sticking out further than before, pushed sideways, or driven up into the gum. This needs same-day care: we numb the area, ease the tooth back into position, and splint it for two to four weeks depending on the injury.
A tooth pushed up into the gum is the trickiest of the three. In a child whose root is still developing, it will often move back down on its own — so we watch and wait. In an adult tooth we usually need to help it back into place, and the nerve usually can’t survive that kind of knock, so root canal treatment is normally part of the plan.
Until we see you: don’t wiggle it, don’t test it, and don’t bite on it.
What you should do
Contact us the same day for any tooth that’s loose or out of position after a knock. Stick to soft foods and chew on the other side until then.
A chipped or broken corner — and why the piece is worth keeping
Chips after a knock range from a cosmetic nick to a break that reaches the nerve. Two useful things you can do straight away: find the broken piece if you can — it can often be bonded straight back on — and take a look at the broken surface.
What we do depends on how deep the break goes, starting with the gentlest fix:
- A small chip with no pain: we simply smooth and polish it, or bond the piece back on.
- A deeper break that’s sensitive to cold or air — you may see a yellowish layer inside: we cover that exposed layer quickly, with a protective bandage first if needed, then repair it with white filling material.
What you should do
Book in the next few days for a chip — sooner if it’s sensitive — and bring the broken piece with you if you found it. If you can see pink or blood in the middle of the break, read the next section: that’s a same-day visit.
You can see pink, or a spot of blood, in the middle of the break
That pink spot is the living nerve of the tooth showing through — the break has gone all the way in. It sounds worse than it is, but it does move this from “book this week” to “contact us today”, because the sooner the nerve is covered, the better its chances.
Seen quickly, an exposed nerve can often be protected rather than removed:
- We can often place a protective dressing directly over the nerve so the tooth can heal and stay alive — dentists call this a pulp cap. It works best when done soon after the injury, and it’s especially worthwhile in younger teeth that are still developing.
- If too much time has passed, or the nerve can’t be saved, root canal treatment cleans and seals the inside of the tooth so you still keep it.(from R3,500)
Either way, the tooth is rebuilt afterwards so it looks and works like a tooth again.
What you should do
Contact us today — same-day care protects the nerve’s chances. Until then, keep very hot, cold or hard things away from that side.
Afterwards: why we keep checking a knocked tooth
A tooth can look perfect after a knock and still run into trouble months later — the nerve inside can quietly give up long after everything else has healed. That’s why every injured tooth gets a review plan, not just a repair: we re-test the nerve and take check X-rays at around two weeks, one month, two months, six months and a year.
If a problem does show up, catching it at a review means we can usually treat it early — often with root canal treatment — before it turns into pain or swelling.
What you should do
Keep every review appointment, even if the tooth feels completely fine. Between reviews, contact us if the tooth starts to darken, begins to ache, or a small pimple appears on the gum above it.
Go to an emergency department NOW — don’t wait for us — if you have: any sign of a head injury with the knock — being knocked out cold, confusion, drowsiness or vomiting; a jaw that may be broken — it looks crooked, or the teeth suddenly don’t meet the way they did; swelling under the tongue or into the neck; or any difficulty swallowing or breathing. These are medical emergencies first and dental problems second.
What it costs
Every price above is a genuine “starting from” for the straightforward case. We quote before we treat — always. If you’re on a medical aid, we claim directly: you pay only co-payments and anything your plan doesn’t cover or has already used up.
On a medical aid? See what your scheme’s published benefits say — and we confirm with a benefit check before treatment.
Not sure which pattern is yours?
Tell us what you’re feeling — we’ll take it from there.